PUMA MB.01 “Foot Locker 50th Anniversary” 310506-01

As Foot Locker nears fifty years in operation, they’re enlisting some of their biggest footwear partners from throughout their history to ring in the occasion. Up first is PUMA, lending one of their foremost “retro” basketball models to the efforts with a classy edition of the PUMA MB.01.

The “referee stripes” synonymous with Foot Locker’s brand identity actually becomes pretty synergistic in this application, especially given how eccentric LaMelo Ball shoes typically are. Largely reflected in hypnotic fashion, the pattern radiates through the upper out from LaMelo’s “1 of 1” wings logo on the tongue. Gilded accents throughout similarly tie in to both of the main narrative aspects here, representing LaMelo’s flashy playstyle and the “golden anniversary” the footwear giant is celebrating.

As of writing, a release date and retail pricing evade us, but expect this pair to drop sometime in Q4, the height of Foot Locker’s 50th anniversary celebration.

Matt Varga is an Editor at SneakerNews. Initially earning a degree in Video Arts and Technology, he got his start in video editing and writing in the music world — primarily on hip-hop and electronic. A long-standing interest in sneakers led him to switching over to footwear. An avid collector, his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to either the Air Jordan 1 “Black Toe” and Air Jordan 5 “Laney,” his first ever pick-ups. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, attending concerts and when weather permits, on the handball court.